Barbecue machine



Dec. 6, '1938. K. E. BEMIS 2,138,813v

BARBECUE MACHI NE Filed April 19, 1938 s Asheets-Smm 1 .fa 90 ["5 d .5 M5 1 L 5,5 il y 7 D Dec. 6, 1938.`

K. E. BEMIS BARBECUE MACHINE Filed April 19, 1938 3 SheebS-She'l ,2,

Dec, 1938. VK.l E. BEMls v 21,138,813

' BARBECUE MACHINE Filed April 19, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 757 IE' ljade/Wr' Patented Dee. 6, 193s 2,138,813

UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE I 2,138,813 BARBECUE'MAGHINE i Kenneth E.Bemis, oakland, Calif.

ApplicationApril 19, 1938, Serial No. 202,910`

2o claims. (ol. ss-s) i This invention, a barbecue machine, isspeparatively thin slices or cuts, preferably an inch cifically designedfor roasting, frying, braising or less in thickness, to expose the meatinitially and barbecuing meats, and includes a retort'for orrbcth sidessimultaneously to an intense seardestruotive distillation of wood forsupplying the ing or praising heat and to continue and com- 5 smoke forbarbecuing operations. plete the Icooking by the heat derived by circu-This Amachine includes automatic feeding and lation from the source ofsearing heat but in a discharging means, and is intended primarily forZone removed therefrom; to prevent any type barbecuing and cooking meatsin comparatively of basting action on the meat during the cooking thinslices or slabs, preferably an inch or less process; to carry out theentire Cookin process 1o in thickness, 'and conducted in a fiueless andincluding feeding and discharge 0f meatsautol0 -doorless oven obviatingany possibility of changes matically; and to generate Smoke in a retortin temperature as occurswhen doors are opened. heated by the Source fbl'aSng heet and free Due to the fact that the only opening is in the ofventilation, forbarbecuing operations.

bottom of the oven, through which opening the In describing theinvention, reference will be i meat is introduced and discharged, therecan made to the accompanying drawings in which: 15 be no circulationbetween outside air and the FE.- 1 iS a SeCifional elevation through themeinterior of the oven when the oven is heated, all chine. circulationtaking place within the oven. Fig. 2 is a P1211 .View 0f the clutch forthe The specific arrangement of heating units and horizontal, or feedIand discharge Conveyor.

meat carriers subjects both sides of the meat Fig. 31S a Section tokenon line 3--3 OFg- 2; 20 simultaneously to an intense radiant-heat sear-Fig. 4 iS a plan View of the Smoke-producing. ing or braisingaction atthe beginning of the retort cooking processand then continues thecooking Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 4. in the presenceof a normal and uniform circu- Fig. 6 iS o Section taken on line 5--6 ofFig- 1- lating heat, in this way diifering from the usual Fig. 7 iS anenlarged fragmently View 0f the. 25 'methods o1'. continuous radiant ornon-radiant transfer means operating between the horizontal heat ordirect conductive heat. and vertical conveyors.

In the process .of barbecuing or roasting meats, Fig. 8 is a sectiontaken on line 8-8 of Fig. 7. two methods of basting are used, in one ofwhich Fig. 9A is a section taken on line 9-9 of Fig. l.

steam is admitted or liquid sprayed or otherwise Fig. 10 is a frontelevation of one of the meat 30,

applied during the cooking process, andin the Carriers or baskets otherof which, the fats and juices from one por- Fig. 11 iS an end elevation0f Fig- 10- tion of meat are permitted to drip onto the next Fig. l2 iSan enlarged fragmentary View ShoW- portion beneath it. ing the means forlatchlng the door of. the carrier In this machine, basting is entirelydispensed melosed Position- Y 35 with, and the fats and juices arepurposely pre- The invention comprises; an oven which has vented fromdripping. onto other portions of meat, front and rear walls 20 and 2i, atop Well 22 and and the meat portions are maintained out of side walls23 and 24, the walls being continuous association with their rejectedjuices, resulting and uninterrupted. Without either ues', doors or 40 ina more delectable and juicy product with less ventilators, therebyremoving any possibility of 40 loss in weight and with distinctiveilavor. introducing cold air at any time during the cook- Tliese resultscannot be obtained to the same ing process, the only opening beine.r inthe bot,- desirable extent when the meat is first seared on tom of theoven 25, through which the meat for one side and then on the other, orexposed for cooking iS introduced and removed. searing by rotation ofthe meat relative to the This Oven COIlSiStS 0f a Sealing 0I' braisngZone 45 heating units, or if any basting is introduced, or extendingupwardly to Aa point 26, an additional, if the meat ,is subjected toeither its own juices fat-searing zone extending from point 26 to a orto the'juices from another portion of meat. point 21 which correspondsto the plane of the Therefore, the objects of. this invention are, totop of the bafile 28, which baille establishes these cook meat in aueless and doorless oven, withzones as distinct from the normal cookingzone 50 out any opening or means of ventilation orescape extendingthroughout the remainder of the oven. of gases or circulation withoutside air other The intense searing or braisng zone up to than in thevery bottom of the oven through point 26 is provided with electricalheating units which the meat is introduced and removed, and 23 on bothsides of the upward path of travel of to cook the meat preferably in theform of comthe meat for simultaneously intensely searing both sides ofthe meat, and the fat searing zone has heating units 30 located only onone side of.

the path, and the meat is passed through the oven with the fat side(when there is a fat side, as in spare-ribs) toward the units 30. Ifthere is no fat side, the units 39 are not energized.

The baille 28 has its lower end spaced above the bottom 25 of the ovenjust sufliciently to permit circulation of heat within the oven aboutthe baille, and since there is no circulation of air through the oven,the entire interior of the oven is heated by the heating units to asuitable degree for continuation andcompletion of the cooking process,thus forming three cooking zones, including double searing, singlesearing,-

and moderate cooking or baking zones.

Mounted in direct association with one of the heating units 29 is aretort 3l which is provided with a door or closure 32 at one end forinserting Wood 33, such as hickory for producing smoke by destructivedistillation, and has a receiver 34 at its other end for receivingrefuse, andwhich seals that end of the retort.

The only opening in this retort, when the receiver 34 is attached anddoor 32 closed, is a very narrow slit 35 located preferably near thereceiver end, and which has only suflicient area to permit escape ofsmoke while preventing admission of air to prevent actual combustion ofthe wood.

Copending application,.Serial No. 181,517, filed December 24, 1937,discloses a similar arrangement of retort with the exception of thearrangement of the slit, and although small holes could be used, it wasfound that the very fine slit is more effective in preventing combustionthan even very small holes, and the V-shape slit is easily formed andeasily cleaned.

The transporting means for carrying the meat through the oven comprises;a shaft 36 which is mounted in bearing 31 in the upper portion of theoven and which shaft carries sprockets 38; a shaft 39 mounted inbearings 40 below the bottom 25 of the oven and carrying sprockets 38';chains 4i operatingabout the upper and lower sprockets 38 and 38 andprovided with carrier attachments 42 which are pivoted inregistrablyrelated pairs to the chains as indicated at 43 and whichare'provided with V-slots44 formed in the top edge of aU-bent portion45; the attachments having suilicient weight and freedom on their pivotsto gravitationally remain always in receiving and releasing position asillustrated in Figs. 'l and 8.

The baskets or carriers C for .carrying the cuts of meat 46 through themachine consist of a wire frame, the front 41 of which is hinged at itslower end 48 to provide for introduction of the meat 46 in a reclinedposition, the front 41 latching onto the top of the carrier as indicatedat 49; and a pickup arm 50 projects beyond both ends of the carrier,terminating in an upturned lifting finger 5l with intervening centeringportion 52. A receptacle or pan 53 forms the bottom of the carrier andcatches all greases and' juices from the` meat and prevents dripping ofsuch greases and juices onto the meat below; the

pans beingpreferably V-shaped and as shallow as is consistent with themaximum amount of juices which might be exuded from a cut of meat,

-so as to keep the .lower edge of the meat as much as possible out ofassociation with the juices.

These carriers are preferably made about one inch Vbetween the front andback and of suitable porting conveyor automatically, consists of a`horizontal conveyor comprising two parallel strands 55 and 5G ofconveyor chain which operate between the strands of the verticalconveyor as is clearly illustrated in Figs. 6, '7 and 9, and operateover the spaced apart sprockets 51 and 58 which are oppositely locatedrelative to the oven, one end of this conveyor functioning as deliverymeans and the other'end as discharge means.

These sprockets 51 and 58 are respectively xed on the shafts 59 and 60which are supported in bearings 6| and 62.

The chains 56 are provided with spacers or locators for the liftingfingers 5|, such as grooves 63 for suitable spacing and location of thecarriers C for feeding to and removing from, the vertical ortransporting conveyor, and may consist of these V-grooves, or pins orlugs (not shown).

The horizontal conveyor is actuated in correct sequence for delivery andreception of carriers, by means of a clutch, which consists of astationary drum 64 provided with a rim having a cam track 65; and insidethis drum is a disk 65 which is provided with a series of equi-angularlyspaced pins 61, and which disc is keyed to the shaft 59.

A sprocket 68 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 59 and driven by a chain69 from the shaft 39 to assure synchronous cooperationbetween the twoconveyors, and 'a leaf spring 10 is aiilxed to the sprocket 68 andcooperates with the rim of the drum 64 and its cam track 55, and, withone of the pins 61 when the spring is riding up the cam surface 65.

A track 1I is mounted outside and in cooperative relation, to each chain55 along the discharge end and is inclined upwardly as is clearlyillustrated in Fig. 1, to form an accumulator for the carriers C andwhich lifts the carriers from the conveyor as the conveyor urges themsuccessively toward the tail end of the machine, this arrangementprotecting the conveyor and minimizing the storage space required.

The operation of the machine is carried through as follows: Each carrieris loaded by pressing down on the top, whereby the latch rod 12, whichis welded to the inturned ends 13 of the front uprights 14, is releasedfrom the catch rod 15 which in turn is welded to the top bars 16 whichare formed as a continuation of the rear uprights 11, permitting thefront to be swung open. The carrier is then laid back down and the meat18 is laid therein and the front closed and latched, the meat being cutto suitable thickness to just iit between the front and back grids ofthe carrier so that it will be held in vertical position, or edgewise,and be prevented from sagging or sliding toward the bottom of -the'carrier.

The carriers are then placed in position in the horizontal conveyor asindicated at 19, with the lifting fingers located in the recesses 63,these arms projecting from opposite sides to almost tical conveyor 4|and the sprocket 68 at very low speed.

With each revolution of the sprocket 68, the spring 10 snaps over theedge 80 of the cam drum and drops back of one of the pins 61 and movesthe pin forward, thus driving' the shaftw 58 and conveyor chains 55 and56 until the spring 10 has ridden up on the cam surface 65 high enoughto release the pin. This action moves the horizontal conveyor chainsjust far enough to carry the carriers C forward a distance equal to thedistance between two carriers, as from position 8| to position 82, andthis occurs just as soon as the preceding carrier 83 has been carried upsuii'iciently high to clear the next carrier 8|.

With the carrier 8| moved to position 82, the next pair of attachments84 are brought up by the chains 4|, and upon reaching the lifting ngers5| of the carrier, engage and lift the carrier off the conveyor asillustrated at 85 in Fig. 7.

As the carriers pass between the front and rear heating units 29, themeat is seared or braised simultaneously on both sides and with equaldegree of radiant heat, the units 30 not, being used i'or lean meats,but mainly for meats such as spare ribs, in which case the fat side ofthe meat is placed in the machine to be presented to the heat of theunits 3|) to try out more of the grease.

After passing through this searing or braising zone, the cooking iscontinued through the me- 53, so that none of these juices are permittedto drop or drip onto the cuts of meat below, and the only moisture whichcan reach the meat is the moisture in the heated air which moisture isderived from evaporation of a portion of the watery juices exuded by themeat during the cooking process.

The baille 28 prevents any direct transfer of .heat from the heatingunits after the carriers have left the braising zone, and due to theconned space between the baille and the. front wall 20. unusually higheillciency is secured in the braising zone, and due to the fact that thebottom of the baille is located in a plane above the bottom of the oven,circulation is conned to the interior of the oven, the heat passing upthrough the braising zone and down thel back side of the baille, aroundthe bottom of the baille and back up through the braising zone,maintaining the entire interior of the oven other than the braising zoneat a suitable cooking or baking temperature. The carriers reach aposition 81 at the lower end of the back of the oven at the instant thatoperation of the conveyor 55, 58 starts one of its intermittentoperations and which carries the carrier 88 back to the position 89, andcarrier 81 continues to move` down until the fingers 5| are resting inslots 63, at which time the horizontal conveyor is again brought intooperation.

As the horizontal conveyor moves the carriers back and one of thecarriers 90 reaches the upwardly inclined track 1|, the ends of thelifting iingers 5| cooperate with Ithe inclined track and the conveyorforces the carrier -up the incline until released by the conveyor, andthus each succeeding carrier pushes the preceding carrier forward and upthe incline, thus requiring a minimum amount of space for the finishedproducts.

The bottom edge 9| of thebaille 28 is located aA suilicient distanceabove the bottom of the oven to induce'circulation of heat within theoven, without admission of introduction of outside air, this distancebeing not less than six inches. Without this arrangement, there could beno circulation within the oven.

If the meat is to be barbecued, small pieces of wood, such as hickoryare placed in the retort 3| and retorted by means of the heat of aheating unit 29 with which it is directly associated, the smoke escapingthrough the small slit 35 into the oven, there being no actualcombustion of the wood. Products of distillation, such as tar, and thecharcoal are passed to the receiver 34, which is removable for emptying.

The following copending applications are related to this application;Serial Number 181,517, led December 24, 1937, for Barbecue furnace; Meatcarrier i'or meat cookers, Serial Number 202,911, led April 19, 1938;Process of cooking meats, Serial Number 202,913, led April 19, 1938.

It will be understood that variations in construction and arrangement ofparts, which variations are consistent with the appended claims, may beresorted to `without detracting from the spirit or scope of theinvention, or sacriilcing any of the advantages thereof.

I claim:

1. A barbecuing machine, in combination, an oven having continuous wallswith an opening in the bottom only, for introduction and removal ofmeat, and having a centrally disposed baille extending from a planespaced from the bottom of the oven to an intermediate height within saidoven to define a braising zone and to induce circulation entirely withinsaid oven; opposed travel paths for meat on opposite sides of saidbaiile; transporting means operatingalong said travel paths and formingdefining means therefor, and including carrier means carrying portionsof meat in vertical or edgewise position and means collectingindividually the juices exuded from each portion of meat to prevent saidjuices from dripping onto other portions of meat therebelow; heatingunits arranged in saidbraising zone on opposite sides of saidtransporting means therein and extending throughout only a minor portionof one of said travel paths existing in said braising zone and formingan initial braising zone, whereby an intense braising and searing actionis initially applied to the meat simultaneously on both sides, thecooking being continued and completed in the heat derived from, but outof direct relation to, said heating units.

2. A barbecuing machine as defined in claim 1; a wood retort inconductive association with one of said heating units and having anescape opening for delivering smoke into said loven and being sealedagainst air circulation to prevent combustion of wood therein.

3. A barbecuing machine as deilned in claim l; a second `eet of heatingunits located above said first-named setl and located only on one sideof the path of travel and extending through another minor portion ofsaid path, forming a secondary or fat braising zone for the fat portionsof meat, for the extraction of additional grease.

4. A structure as deiined in'claim 1; delivery and discharge meansoperating in cooperative relation tol said transporting means,delivering and receiving said carrier means respectively to and fromsaid transporting means for automatic feeding thereof.

5. A barbecuing machine comprising; a iiueless and doorless oven ofsubstantially small cross-sectional area and of considerable height andhaving an opening in the bottom for introduction and removal of portionsof meat and being otherwise completely sealed to prevent circulation ofair through said oven, said oven having a central baiiie extending from-a plane a limited distance above said bottom to a point intermediatethe height of said oven and defining a braising zone on one side thereofand an upward path of travel therein, and a downward path of travel onthe other side: of said baiile; heating means located on both sides ofsaid upward path to a predetermined height within the limits of theheight of said baiiie creating an intense initial braising zone andsupplying heat by circulation throughout the balance of the interior ofthe oven and about the bottom of said baille limiting the circulation tothe conines of said oven; and transporting means including removablecarriers carrying portions of meat in a vertical or edgewise positionabout said travel paths and timed to complete the cooking process in onepass therethrough. I

6. A machine as deiined in claim 5; delivery and removal means andoperating means therefor delivering said carriers to said transportingmeans for transportation about said paths and removing said carriersafter they have completed their pass therethrough.

7. A device as claimed in claim 5; a wood retort associated directlywith said heating means and having an opening at one end only and ofsuiiicient area only to permit escape of smoke into said oven during thedestructive distillation of the wood without permitting introduction ofair in suitable quantity to promote combustion of the Wood.

8. A device as claimed in claim 5; said heating means comprisingelectrical heating units arranged in two sets in superposed relation,the lower set of which consists of units located on both sides of saidupward path to form an initial braising zone to braise both sides of theportions of meat with equal intensity simultaneously; and the upper setof which consists of units located only on one side of said upward pathforming a secondary braising Zone for additionally braising fat sides ofportions of meat.

`9. A device as claimed in claim 5; said transporting means comprising aconveyor, with said carriers formed to retain said portions of meat invertical or edgewise position while carried through said oven; saidcarriers being freely removable and replaceable from and on said conveyor when in a position below the bottom of said oven; said carriersincluding means collecting and retaining the juices exuded from theportions of meat to prevent discharge of juices from one portion of meatonto another portion therebelow.

l0. A barbecue machine comprising; a vertical oven having an opening inthe bottom for introduction and removal of meat and having a centralbaiiie extending from a plane located above said bottom to inducecirculation entirely within the confines of said ovenf and extending'upwardly to a plane intermediate the height oi said oven; a pair ofcoaxial sprockets mounted within said oven and adjacent the top thereof,and a second pair of sprockets mounted below the bottom of said oven andchains cooperating between the respective pairs; carrier attachmentspivotally mounted on said chains and gravitasaid oven for continuing andcompleting the' cooking of said portions of meat.

11. A structure as claimed in claim 10; said carriers each having areceptacle forming the bottom for receiving juices exuded by saidportions of meat and retaining said juices against discharge or drippingonto portions of meat therebelow; said vertical arrangement of saidportions keeping said portions out of its exuded juices and exposingboth sides of the portion simultaneously'to the braising action of saidheating units. A

12. A structure as claimed in claim 10; and a second set of heatingunits located above one of said first-named sets and Within the limitsof the height of said baffle, forming a secondary braising zone foradditional braising of `one side of the portions of meat.

13. A structure as defined in claim 10; carrier delivery and ,dischargemeans cooperatively related to said conveyor chains and deliveringcarriers to the upward traveling strands of chain and receiving andremoving carriers from the downwardly-traveling strands of chains, anddriving means for said delivery and discharge means and for saidsprockets and chains.

14. A structure as deiined in claim 10 carrier delivery and dischargemeans cooperatively related to said conveyor chains and deliveringcarriers to the chains on one side and receiving carriers and removingthem from the chains on the other side, and driving means for saiddelivery and discharge means and for said chains; each of said carriershaving laterally extending supporting and centering fingers for supportby said carrier delivery and discharge means and cooperatively relatedto said carrier attachments.

15. A structure as defined in claim 10; carrier delivery and dischargemeans cooperatively related to said conveyor chains and deliveringcarriers to the chains on one side and receiving and removing carriersfrom the chains on the other side, and driving means for said deliveryand discharge means and for said chains; and means associated with thedischarge portion of said delivery and discharge means, receiving saidcarriers from said discharge means for independent support thereof;

16. A barbecue machine having an oven of considerable height andcomparatively small cross-section and having an opening in the bottomfor introduction and discharge oi meat for cooking, and a baiiiecentrally located and extending vertically from a plane a predetermineddistance above the bottom of the oven to a plane intermediate the heightor the oven; a. vertical conveyor operating within said oven .andstraddling said baille and extending belowr the bottom o! the oven;heating units located in the space on one side of said baille and onboth sides of the conveyor portion located therein; carrier attachmentspivotally associatedwith said conveyor and gravitationally` maintainedin carriercooperative position; and carriers having a combined centeringand supporting means associated with the upper end thereof and extendingfrom both ends for dependent support of said lcarriers by saidattachments, and having` iront` and back grid-type walls closely relatedto support a cut of meat edgewise to expose sides of the meat equallyand simultaneously to said heating units for initial braislng.

17. A structure as claimed in claim 16; a wood retort associated withsaidv heating units and having a feed opening and'sealing meanstherefor, a discharge opening and sealing means therefor, and a single,minimum-area, smoke-escape passage opening into said oven to permitescape of smoke and prevent introduction of air for combustion withinsaid retort.

18. A structure as claimed in claim 16; a horizontal conveyor operatingin cooperativerelation to said vertical conveyor for moving saidcarriers into and out of cooperative relation to said carrierattachments and driving means continuously driving saidverticalconveyorand intermittently driving said horizontal conveyor.

19. A structure as claimed in claim 16; ahorizontal conveyor operatingin cooperative relation to saidvertical conveyor for moving saidcarriers into and` out of cooperative relation-to said carrierattachments; driving means continuously driving said vertical conveyorand intermittently driving said horizontal conveyor; and upwardlyinclined tracks related to said horizontal conveyor and supportinglyrelated to said carriers and receiving and supporting said carriersafter removal from said vertical conveyor; said carriers being gatheredin direct contact on said tracks.

20. In a food cooking machine; a vertical conveyor comprising coaxialupper sprockets and coaxial lower sprockets and chains operating betweensaid upper and lower sprockets; dependent carrier attachments pivotallymounted on said chains m registrabie relation on the chains; ahorizontal conveyor having head and tail sprockets and chains operatingtherebetween and between the chains of said vertical conveyor; locatingmeans on said chains for said horizontal conveyor; carriers havinglaterally-extending arms receivable by said locating means fortransportation to, and location relative to said attachments to bepicked up thereby, and for reception therefrom for removal from saidvertical conveyor; means driving said vertical conveyor continuously.and driving said horizontal conveyor intermittently to place andremovesaid carriers inv .timed sequence.

KENNETH E nmns.

